Geoege w



(No Model.) G W PEEK LID RAISING ATTACHMENT FOR PIANOS. No. 296,612. Patented Apr. 8,1884.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR Y %zz@v(bzzw L fwifizfim? I BY ATTORNEYS n Perms mM-nho n m. Wailinginn. a. Q

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE I. PEEK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LID-RAISING ATTACHMENT FOR PIANOS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,612, dated April 8, 1884.

Application filed September 29, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. PEEK, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inLid-Raising Attachments for Piano-Fortes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for raising the lid of a pianoforte in playing for the escape of sound; and it consists in the novel means, hereinafter described, for keeping the lid up permanently when desirable.

The accompanying drawing is a perspective view of a portion of an upright piano-forte embodying my invention.

In the drawing, the letter A designates the top of the instrument, to which is hinged, in the usual manner, the lid B; This lid B rests on the upper end of a supportingrod, G, the

W The pedal F is fulcrumed at one end in a block,

H, in such a manner that it is capable of oscillating in both a horizontal and vertical direction, and the shank of the pedal works in a guide-slot, I, which is formed in the upper edge of a sill, J, at the base of the instrument. This guide-slot I is provided at the lower end with an offset, 1, adapted to receive the pedal, and if, when the pedal has been depressed, it is shifted laterally in the proper direction to enter this offset,it is thereby retained in a depressed position, thus keeping the lid 13 raised, while, when the pedal is moved out of the offset,the lid is permitted to close by gravity.

It will be noticed that the lateral motion of the pedal F can be readily produced by the foot, and hence such act and the ensuing raising and lowering of the lid can be performed without any interruption in playing.

It is evident that in lieu of the slot I, with its offset, other means may be employed for arresting the pedal in its depressed position' that is to say, various stops may be devised for engaging the pedal when it is thrown sidewise. The slot, however, possesses the advantage of guiding the pedal in its vertical movement.

Heretofore a piano-forte has been provided with a hinged lid at its top and a verticallymovable rod connected at its lower end with pivoted levers operated by a treadle or lever, so that by depressing the treadle the lid or panel. can be more or less elevated to increase or reduce the swell of the instrument, and in another instance a lever carrying a pedal for operating the bellows of a musical instrument has been pivoted, so that when depressed it can be moved laterally and engaged under a hook or projection in the slot in which the lever works at the front end of the instrument. Such features, however, do not constitute my invention, and are not claimed by me. WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the hinged lid of a piano-forte, of the lid-supporting rod, the verpedal, and the guide-slot for the pedal having an offset to receive the pedal when it is shifted laterally in the depressed position thereof.

' In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JrEORGE \V. PEEK. [L. s.]

\Vitn esses:

OHAs. WAHLERS, E. F. KASTENHUBER. 

